How To Have An Intimate Relationship With God
Having an intimate relationship with God can fill your life with meaning, purpose, comfort, and unconditional love. If you’re wondering how to connect with God on a deeper level, you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s the key to intimacy with God in a nutshell: spend dedicated time with Him daily through prayer and Bible study while also maintaining an awareness of His presence throughout your day.
Set Aside Quiet Time for God
Having an intimate relationship with God requires making intentional time to connect with Him. Setting aside quiet time is crucial for deepening your bond with your Creator. Here are some practical ways to carve out space for God each day:
Find a quiet spot to regularly meet with God
Choose a peaceful space where you can pray and study the Bible free from distractions. This may be in a quiet corner of your home, out in nature, or even in your car during your commute. Determine a consistent time and place to rendezvous with the Lord so this special time becomes a priority habit.
Talk to God through prayer
Pour out your heart to God as you would your closest confidant. Share your dreams, fears, struggles, gratitude―all the aspects that make you uniquely you. Approach Him with reverence but also childlike informality, knowing He deeply cares about every detail (1 Peter 5:7).
Let your conversations flow naturally instead of reciting memorized prayers.
Listen to God by reading the Bible
The Bible is God’s love letter to humanity. As you read His Word, expect Him to speak truth into your mind and spirit. Approach the Scriptures prayerfully, asking for wisdom and insight. Take notes on passages that stand out so you can reflect and act on them later.
Regular Bible study trains you to discern God’s voice amid life’s noise.
Journal your thoughts and revelations
Recording your spiritual journey cultivates meaningful change. Jot down prayers, scriptures, sermon notes, and anything else God impresses upon you. Rereading your journal over time helps you track growth, cement biblical truths, and recognize how intimately God knows and guides you.
Plus generating original content aids memory and deep learning. Reflecting on writing about God draws you nearer to Him.
Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude
Having an intimate relationship with God requires cultivating an attitude of gratitude. When we focus on the blessings in our lives, express thanks for God’s unconditional love, and praise God simply for who He is, we nurture our spiritual connection.
As we open our heart to gratitude, we become more receptive to sensing God’s presence within and around us.
Thank God for the little blessings in your day
Start by noticing the small gifts you receive each day that bring you joy or meet a need. For example, be grateful when a friend sends an encouraging text, you witness a beautiful sunrise, or you simply take a deep breath of air.
Verbally thank God throughout your day for these blessings, as an ongoing prayerful conversation. Maintaining conscious contact aligns you with the divine flow.
You can even keep a gratitude journal where you jot down 5-10 things you’re grateful for daily. Researchers find that journaling boosts mood, relationships, empathy, generosity, and spiritual awareness. As you record positive moments, you may notice God’s fingerprints on your life more clearly.
Express gratitude for God’s love and sacrifice
All faith traditions honor the graciousness of a Higher Power that gives unconditionally. Set aside quiet time to contemplate the profound gift of God’s love for you personally, as well as for all people. Consider the compassion underlying Christ’s sacrifice to redeem humanity.
Or reflect on verses from sacred texts emphasizing divine mercy, like: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Pour out heartfelt gratitude to God for loving you before you did anything to deserve it. Thank God for meeting your needs over and over, even when you don’t notice. Expressing genuine appreciation touches the very heart of God.
Praise God simply for who He is
Beyond being thankful for blessings, take time to revere God’s essence. The divine presence within you passionate burns for connection. Offer God the same gift of focused presence and adoration. Sit quietly and invite God to make Himself known, then share the love that surfaces. Some ideas include:
The more you recognize God for who He is, apart from what God provides, the deeper intimacy grows. Stay centered in the Spirit by repeating sacred words like “Holy” or “Hallelujah.” These expressions of reverent awe attune you to divine glory.
| Ways to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude | Benefits |
| Thank God for daily blessings | Increases awareness of God’s presence |
| Appreciate God’s unconditional love | Deepens intimate bond with the divine |
| Praise God simply for divine essence | Opens heart to sense & connect with God |
Regularly nurturing a spirit of gratitude bears bountiful spiritual fruit! It may feel challenging at first to express appreciation continually, but the more you do, the more natural it becomes. Soon you’ll notice your days overflow with divine gifts, filling you with praise.
When gratitude leads each thought, your intimate relationship with God catches fire.
Lean on God Constantly
Bring your needs and desires to God in prayer
Prayer is one of the most powerful ways to build an intimate relationship with God. When you bring your needs, desires, joys and worries to God in prayer, you are letting Him into your life in a personal way. Make prayer a daily habit. Set aside time each day to talk to God.
Tell Him what’s on your heart and thank Him for the blessings in your life. The more you pray, the more connected you’ll feel to your Heavenly Father. As 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.” God wants to hear from you!
Ask God for guidance and wisdom throughout your day
Besides set prayer times, you can also develop intimacy with God by talking to Him throughout your day. Get into the habit of asking God for wisdom and guidance in the small decisions you make each day, as well as the big ones.
For example, “God, help me be patient with my kids today,” or “Lord, give me wisdom to handle this work situation.” James 1:5 reminds us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Asking God to guide your daily life shows your dependence on Him.
Trust God even when you don’t understand His plan
It’s easy to trust God when life is going smoothly. A deeper level of intimacy and dependence on Him comes when you choose to trust Him even in the difficult seasons of life when His plan is unclear. For example, if you lose your job or suffer a major illness, you may struggle to understand why God is allowing something so hard.
Yet, as you pour out your heart to Him in prayer, choose to trust His goodness and sovereignty even when you can’t see what He’s doing. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
God uses faith-building trials to draw you closer to Himself.
Obey God Wholeheartedly
Study the Bible to understand God’s commands
To have an intimate relationship with God, we must know His commands and obey them wholeheartedly. The primary way we discover God’s commands is by studying the Bible. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
By reading God’s word, we learn what pleases Him and what displeases Him. We understand how He wants us to live and relate to Him. As we study the Bible, we should ask God to give us wisdom and understanding of His commands (James 1:5).
The more we know God’s word, the more intimate our walk with Him will become.
Ask God to reveal areas needing change
Even when we know God’s commands, we can still struggle to fully obey them. We all have areas in our lives that need to align more closely with God’s standards. That’s why we need to continually ask God to search our hearts and reveal any unconfessed sin or disobedience (Psalm 139:23-24).
For example, He may show us we need to change our speech, tame our tongue, forgive others, or defeat a particular temptation. As God exposes areas needing change, we shouldn’t resist His conviction but welcome it.
Repenting from sin draws us closer to God’s heart and strengthens our relationship with Him. According to James 4:8, when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.
Repent quickly when you fail and seek forgiveness
Despite our best intentions, we will stumble and disobey God at times. When this happens, we shouldn’t wallow in guilt but repent quickly and seek God’s forgiveness. First John 1:9 assures us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
God delights to show mercy to those who humbly admit their failures and turn from their sin (Luke 15:7). After repenting, we can move forward in our relationship with God, unhindered by past mistakes. Maintaining a repentant heart helps us obey God wholeheartedly throughout our Christian walk.
It enables us to enjoy consistent fellowship with Him.
Serve God Passionately
Serving God with passion means using our talents and abilities to help others come to know His love. As Jesus told his disciples, “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8). There are several impactful ways we can serve God passionately.
Use your gifts to serve others in Jesus’ name
God has gifted each of us uniquely with talents and abilities that can be used to serve others. For example, if you enjoy cooking, bake meals for sick church members or new parents. If you like working with kids, volunteer in the church nursery or after-school program.
Think about what brings you joy and purpose, and find ways to do that in service to your community. Serving others demonstrates God’s love in action.
Look for opportunities to share the gospel
As Christians, we have the duty and privilege of sharing the message of salvation with others. Look for natural opportunities to have spiritual conversations. When a friend is going through a tough time, ask if you can pray with them.
Sensitively share how God brought you peace during your own difficulties. Offer to study the Bible with co-workers or neighbors who express interest in knowing God better. More than 80% of Americans still identify as religious, so chances to share the gospel abound if we lovingly engage those around us.
Care for the poor and marginalized
Jesus consistently ministered to those on the fringes of society – the poor, the sick, women, children, immigrants, and more. As His followers, we must have that same heart for those in need. Serve at a homeless shelter, volunteer with special needs children, regularly donate to reputable aid organizations like World Vision and Compassion International, or participate in short-term missions trips.
As Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
With so much suffering in the world, serving others demonstrates God’s compassion. One small act of kindness can have a huge impact. By serving passionately in Jesus’ name, we build authentic relationships that provide opportunities to share His transformative love.
Conclusion
Developing intimacy with God takes time, commitment and perseverance, but the rewards are infinite and eternal. As you walk closely with God day by day, you’ll experience His love, joy and peace in new dimensions. You’ll find power to live according to His purposes.
And you’ll enjoy a deepening friendship with your Creator that fills your soul and overflows into every relationship in your life.
